Mirroring a Bloomberg report, which mirrored an MCV report, which mirrored earlier rumors, Reuters now reports that Sony plans to unveil its next-generation PlayStation Portable gaming device at an event on January 27th. The event, which will take place in Japan on Thursday, falls on the same day Nintendo is expected to report a 40% slide in its quarterly profits. Reuters reiterates that Sony’s new portable gaming device will feature a touchscreen display and integrated 3G connectivity. Reuters also notes that Sony’s PlayStation phone could be announced at the same event, though the electronics company mat opt to announce the smartphone next month ahead of Mobile World Congress. Earlier reports suggest that Sony’s gaming phone will launch as the Xperia Play, and will feature a PlayStation-branded gaming experienced built atop the Android 2.3 Gingerbread platform. More →

According to Bloomberg, citing “two people familiar with the matter,” Sony and Sony Ericsson will be releasing the PSP2 and Xperia Play smartphone in January and February respectively. The publication writes that the updated iteration of the company’s popular mobile gaming console will be released on January 27th; the company will also “outline a strategy to use its networked entertainment services to share games, movies and music among handheld products, TVs and other devices.” The article goes on to note that the Xperia Play handset, which has been anything but a secret, should get unveiled in February at Mobile World Congress. Unsurprisingly, Sony declined to comment on the report when contacted by Bloomberg. More →

According to “trade sources” being cited by blog MCV, Sony will announce the update to its PSP gaming system — the PSP 2 — on January 27th in Tokyo, Japan. The report claims that, “Publishers were informed late last year of the plans, with some of Sony’s biggest parties already at work on titles for the high-specced [sic] device.” No information was provided that would indicate what exactly those new specs may be. More →

A report Monday morning offers new unconfirmed details on the upcoming next iteration of Sony’s popular PSP gaming console. In what is expected to be the most significant hardware revision since the PSP was first released in 2004, the PSP2 picture seems to take a clearer shape with each passing week. Now, Kotaku claims to have confirmed some important details surrounding the highly anticipated handheld. The blog has apparently confirmed rumors with several sources that Sony’s PSP2 will sport a rear-facing touch panel. The panel is described as a “big mouse trackpad,” though details on exactly how it will be implemented are still unclear. The report goes on to state that the display on the PSP2 will be sharper than the screen on the current PSP, and it will also be 1-inch larger. Sony is reportedly describing the display as “HD” in private meetings. In slightly more troubling news, the company may be having overheating problems with its current prototype hardware, but release delays are not expected. Sony is said to be targeting a release date some time in fall 2011 for the PSP2. More →